UW Housing | Progress Updates

1/18/19 -Vice President for Student Affairs Sean Blackburn gave notice to the members of the Fraternity and Sorority Life Community regarding future renovation to the Tobin House, located on Sorority Row. Pending Board of Trustees approval, the Tobin House will undergo extensive renovations to interior and exterior of the house to prepare it for future use as a residential facility. For more information about the Board of Trustees meetings, click here.

12/13/18

Speaker of the House, Representative Steve Harshman and Senator Glenn Moniz, Co-Chairmen of the Task Force on UW Housing presented to the Joint Appropriations Committee and provided the final report of the Task Force, pursuant to 2018 Session Law, Chapter 136, Section 13. To view more information from the meeting, click here. To see the final legislative report from the Task Force, click here.

11/7/18 The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Wyoming completed a comprehensive survey of over 600 students at UW in regard to their current housing, desires for future housing, and what would impact their decision to prioritize UW housing. The results of the survey will be shared with the University Of Wyoming Board Of Trustees Facilities Contracting Committee during the next available business meeting. Following the presentation to the committee, survey results will be published on the UW Housing Website.

10/25/18 – In order to keep the campus community and members of the public well informed, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs launched the comprehensive UW Housing Website. On the website you can find progress updates, historical documents, answer frequently asked questions, and much more. To see the official UW Housing website, click here.

10/24/18 – Sean Blackburn, the Vice President for Student Affairs, Kimberly Chestnut, Dean of Students, and Erik Kahl, Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator co-hosted a community forum for the members of the Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) Community at the University of Wyoming. Along with President Nichols, approximately 250 FSL students and alumni attended the forum. During the event, we received 59 comments regarding many different topics, those comments have been condensed and summarized below:

The deconstruction of fraternity or sorority housing risks the continued growth of the Fraternity and Sorority Life campus community.

The historic preservation of buildings and greenspaces is key to the success of our campus communities and to continuing to have an attractive campus.

Fraternity and Sorority Life is a hallmark for tradition and alumni engagement, and the message sent by constructing Residence Halls on Fraternity Mall or the Tobin and Sigma Phi Epsilon house would be damaging to the relationship of alumni and the University.

The consideration of demolition on historic avenues calls into question the support of the University for our engaged campus communities like Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Parking is already a strain and concern for the members of our student body living on campus, and there is concern how construction of new dorms, coupled with the loss of parking, would impact the already limited availability.

The University is prioritizing creating a better campus and University for the students of the future, and that the concerns and priorities of current students are undervalued.

The Vice President for Student Affairs was thankful for all of the feedback provided by members of the community, will share the feedback as appropriate. For further information regarding the progress of UW Housing, see the official housing website here.

10/22/18 – The University of Wyoming launched a comprehensive housing survey targeted at UW students. The survey seeks to receive feedback on locations of potential building sites, as well as possible arrangement and amenities to be provided in the planning of new UW Residence Halls.

9/20/18 – The Legislative Task Force on UW Housing met on the University of Wyoming Campus in public session. The meeting included presentations regarding the bond capacity of the University with George K. Baum & Company, Haselden Construction, the Signet Real Estate Group, and the Wyoming Community Development Authority. The University of Wyoming Administration was tasked with providing the members of the Facilities Contracting Committee of the UW Board of Trustees with a report about any available land owned by the University where construction may be feasible and to survey the UW Community to determine appropriate sites for construction. For further information, see the official minutes here.

8/24/18 – Speaker Steve Harshman called the Legislative Task Force on UW Housing to order on the 23rdof August in a meeting hosted on the University of Wyoming campus. Sean Blackburn, UW Vice President for Student Affairs opened the meeting and presented discussion of cost comparisons to peer universities, residence hall occupancy projections, and a comprehensive review of financial material provided to the Finance Subcommittee. The Task Force then heard from Matt Kibbon, UW Deputy Director of Planning & Construction, regarding the footprint of UW buildings, parking, and plans to identify available work space for displaced Wyoming Hall employees if that location were chosen to be the site of construction. Before adjourning, the Task Force also discussed future changes required to the West Campus Energy Plant required to accommodate new residence halls, cost of demolition, and the upcoming legislative process with Legislative Service Office Director, Matt Obrecht. For further information, see the official minutes here.